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Gender Inequality In The Workplace Wiki
Identification of Problem and its Effects Gender equality is attained when women and men receive and equal access to the same rights and opportunities across all different sectors of the society, including education, health care, decent work, representation in political and economic decision-making processes (United Nations, 2019). Gender inequality has always posed as a challenging issue today, primarily impacting all women across the globe, who are disadvantaged individuals due to their gender, something out of one’s control. More particularly in recent years, the gender gap in the workforce is still highly pervasive where “women are continuing to earn less than men and are less likely to advance their careers as far as men” (Workplace Gender Equality Agency, 2019) despite having similar experiences, knowledge, and qualifications. Statistical evidence suggesting inequality within in the workforce: * Globally, 'women represent '''39% of the workforce, h'owever, only '''29% of managerial roles are held by women in 2019 (Catalyst, 2019) * In Australia, the full time average weekly ordinary earnings for women are 14.0% less than for men (ABS 2019, Average Weekly Earnings) Solutions, Their Effectiveness and Impacts Achieving workplace gender equality is one of the Sustainable Development Goals with a target to “ensure women’s full and effective participation and equal opportunities for leadership” by 2030 (United Nations, 2019). However, to effectively accomplish this goal, it requires the participation of stakeholders involved, especially organisations to facilitate small changes for bigger changes to be noticed. “Step by step, I believe that these small wins are the path to achieving our larger goal, which is the transformation of our organizations.”''' - Shelley Correll, director of the Clayman Institute for Gender Research and a Stanford sociologist'' Mentoring programs is one of the existing initiatives implemented by firms to eliminate the '''''glass ceiling* and creating greater diversity within the workplace where more managerial roles can be held by women. Since, it is believed that formal mentoring is “particularly important for women in overcoming gender barriers” (Dashper, K., 2019). *Glass ceiling: an artificial barrier that prevents women or minorities from advancing in their profession (Investopedia, 2018) Effectiveness Such programs enable a sense of inclusiveness in the workplace for women where skills and networks are developed. As a result, it supports their confidence-building which allows them to further progress in their career and seeks opportunities for leadership roles (Dashper, K., 2019). Moreover, the success of mentoring programs is highlighted in a study by the Wharton School of Business, where, “mentors were promoted six times more often than those not in the program; mentees were promoted five times more often than those not in the program” (Chronus, 2019). In spite of this, there are still limitations in achieving complete equality with mentoring. Since, it fails to convey the sexual discrimination women experiences within the workplace and fails to admit the “masculine model of work” resulting in men being more likely to obtain promotions (Dashper, K.2019). Impacts In the short term, the implementation of mentoring will increase the retention and engagement amongst the female employees within the workplace as they feel more comfortable. In the long term, because of mentoring, companies will be more likely to experience favourable financial gains. Since, a report showed that “companies with the most women on the board of directors had and 26 percent higher Return on Invested Capital than those with the least” (Chronus, 2019). Moreover, due to this change, a domino effect can occur within the society, tackling other sectors involving gender equality. The Challenges of Change and Overcoming Them Female mentoring programs display a two-sided effect as a strategy to reduce inequality in the workplace. Aside from providing empowerment to women, mentoring also poses various challenges to women. One major risk is it exposes women to “accusations of weakness as they may be seen in need of special treatment to get ahead in their careers.'' (Dashper, K., 2019). To overcome such a challenge, it requires the management to be transparent with their activities while carrying out the mentoring programs and provide educational resources on gender equality for its employees. Success Metrics Some success metrics include: * Organisation’s productivity through indicators such as Return on Invested Capital * National productivity and economic growth Over time, success can be proven through an increase in the relevant workforce statistics such as income earnings, workforce participation, and roles in senior management. Vision Statement Gender equality is only possible with the involvement of all stakeholders and their efforts to make little changes in the workplace can accumulate to bigger ones. ''“Gender equality is not only a fundamental human right but a necessary foundation for a peaceful, prosperous and sustainable world.” (United Nations, 2019).'' Reference List Australian Bureau of Statistics.(2018). Average Weekly Earnings. Retrieved from http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/mf/6302.0 Catalyst. (2019). Women in management. Retrieved from https://www.catalyst.org/research/women-in-management/ Chronus. (2019). Mentoring women in the workplace. Retrieved from https://chronus.com/mentoring-women-in-the-workplace Dashper, K. (2019). Challenging the gendered rhetoric of success? The limitations of women‐only mentoring for tackling gender inequality in the workplace. Gender, Work & Organization, 26(4), 541–557. https://doi.org/10.1111/gwao.12262 Investopedia. (2019). Glass ceiling. Retrieved from https://www.investopedia.com/terms/g/glass-ceiling.asp Shashkevich, A. (2017, December 19). Stanford sociologist pilots new method to reduce gender inequality at work. Stanford News. Retrieved from https://news.stanford.edu/2017/12/19/new-approach-reducing-gender-inequality-work/ United Nations. (2019). Sustainable Development Gender Equality. Retrieved from https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/gender-equality/ Workplace Gender Equality Agency. (2019). About Workplace Gender Equality. Retrieved from https://www.wgea.gov.au/topics/about-workplace-gender-equality Workplace Gender Equality Agency. (2019). Gender Workplace Statistics At A Glance. Retrieved from https://www.wgea.gov.au/data/fact-sheets/gender-workplace-statistics-at-a-glance Category:Browse __NOEDITSECTION__